


the tail of two cafes

by neenswrites



Series: Kenma Ship Week [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cat Cafés, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Kozume Kenma is So Gay, M/M, Nekoma Second Year Friendship, Owl Cafés, Rival Cafes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25572586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neenswrites/pseuds/neenswrites
Summary: “Kenma-san, a new coffee shop just opened around the block.”Kenma shrugged, not looking up from his phone. He wasn’t really sure why Lev was telling him this. They were a cat cafe. They didn’t really have to worry about competition.Lev hesitantly continued, “...And it’s an owl cafe.”Kenma’s fingers froze in place. He looked up to give Lev an incredulous look. “What the fuck is an owl cafe?”-When a new owl cafe opens up, Kenma's life becomes much more troublesome. The cafe's new owner is the most troublesome part of it all.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma
Series: Kenma Ship Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850572
Comments: 12
Kudos: 150
Collections: Kenma Ship Week 2020





	the tail of two cafes

**Author's Note:**

> Here's kenma ship week day 2: coffee shop au!!!!!!!!! i love akaken and LOVE rivals akaken, so i hope you all like how this turns you!!!!
> 
> HUGE TY TO [NATION](https://twitter.com/itsNationJoy) FOR BETA READING!!!!! ESP WHEN I GAVE U MY VERY FIRST DRAFT THAT I FINISHED AT LIKE 2 AM ALIJDFALKSDF

If someone had told Kenma when he was in middle school that he would one day be the owner of the most successful cat cafe in Tokyo, he probably would’ve laughed in their face. Well, no, he would’ve been much too shy to do that. But he definitely wouldn’t have believed them.

Hell, if someone had told him that four years ago he still would’ve been dubious. Kenma had been working at the same coffee shop he’d worked at since he graduated high school. It had been doing for years, but after two years of working there, business was steadily declining. 

The then owner of the cafe, Nekomata, had called everyone into the backroom and told them bluntly what the situation was. 

“If we don’t find some way to boost sales, then I’m afraid this could be the end of the line for The Cat’s Whisker,” Nekomata had said with a sad smile on his face. “I’m not expecting a miracle, but I want you all to know so you can start looking into other jobs.”

Kenma honestly hadn’t been very attached to the job itself. He’d gotten it because it was the first place that would hire him, and had stayed because looking for a new job was more effort than it was worth. Customers were always a pain, and memorizing the different drinks always made him more frustrated than anything.

But Nekomata had been an incredible boss. He’d been kind, patient, and hired Kenma full-time despite the fact that Kenma was just out of high school and had no experience. He never made Kenma change his hair, never scolded him for not speaking loud enough for the customers, never said anything about the times he’d been so overwhelmed he’d needed to hole up in the backroom to calm down.

He wasn’t just an incredible boss, he was an incredible person. And Kenma didn’t want this to be the end for him.

“What if we change into a cat cafe instead?” Kenma had said from the back. All the heads in the room had turned to look at him, and Kenma tried not to shake too much at the attention. “They’re popular enough that people would definitely come, but rare enough that we wouldn’t have a lot of competition…”

Kenma had trailed off then, unable to take the way everyone seemed to be staring unblinkingly at him. But he had apparently said enough for Nekomata. 

“A cat cafe,” he’d repeated before chuckling softly. “Your generation is always coming up with the most interesting things. Well, we’ve already got the name for it.”

Apparently already having a name was the easiest part of the process. He’d figured since they were already a cafe, it was just a matter of finding some cats.

He’d never been so wrong.

Opening a cat cafe was a lot more work than Kenma had initially anticipated. They’d needed to get permits, coordinate with a shelter, redo the layout of the entire cafe, and get over a dozen approvals from the city’s safety department.

But they’d done it. Almost half a year after The Cat’s Whisker was on the brink of closing, it was suddenly the most popular cat cafe in the area. 

And then three years after that, Nekomata had called Kenma into his office.

“I’m retiring,” he’d said, looking utterly content despite the way Kenma was looking at him in complete disbelief. “I’ve wanted to for a few years now, but I never did because I didn’t feel like this place had really reached its true potential.” Nekomata smiled gently at Kenma then. “Well, now I think it has. And that’s largely because of you.”

Kenma ducked his head. “I didn’t really do much.” 

And he wasn’t even being humble. In terms of labor, Kenma really hadn’t done a lot. Or really anything at all.

“You did all the research, found all paperwork, and made sure we had everything we needed so we could actually pull this off,” Nekomata listed, the same words he’d repeated to Kenma many times before. “Plus, the idea was yours in the first place.”

Kenma pursed his lips. It wasn’t his idea. There were other cat cafes that already existed, he just came up with the idea of turning The Cat’s Whisker into one. But he’d gone back and forth with Nekomata on this enough to already know that saying that wouldn’t appease him.

What he didn’t expect was for Nekomata to say, “Which is why I want to give the place to you now.”

Kenma froze, jaw on the ground as he gaped at Nekomata. Nekomata just smiled at him, and Kenma just began shaking his head, “You can’t just - I don’t know how to run this place, I don’t have a degree for it - ”

“You know more than I do at this point,” Nekomata said with a laugh. “You put everything together. I just signed at the dotted line.”

Kenma shook his head even more emphatically. “That’s not true at all! You decided the accounts we needed to update, the appropriate kinds of insurance we needed to get, the changes we needed to make to the menu - you were there for everything!”

Nekomata hummed them, looking a little too smug for Kenma’s liking. “And how, then Kenma, would you know all that unless you were there for every step as well?”

Kenma’s mouth clicked shut. He tried coming up with some other reason, something else that would show Nekomata that he wasn’t qualified for this. But the way he was looking expectantly at Kenma made it clear that Nekomata wasn’t going to budge.

“I’m putting you in charge, but remember that everyone is in this together,” Nekomata said reassuringly. “I’m confident you’ll be able to do this because you’ll have the whole team behind you.”

It hadn’t been easy. Kenma still wasn’t great with interacting with people, and he overthought every decision he made, not wanting to let Nekomata down. But his former boss had been right. Whenever an overzealous investor would come in to inquire about acquiring the shop, Yamamoto would take over and glare at them until they backed off. If he ever was behind on looking at the customer trends for the month, Shibayama would take the time to compile all the information he could find.

And now, three years later, Kenma was in charge of the most popular cat cafe Tokyo had ever seen. They had customers constantly in and out every day, were well known for the small but delicious bakery selection, and had more and more cat adoptions every month.

It wasn’t a future Kenma had ever predicted for himself, and some days it felt like way too much effort. But he wasn’t alone. He had his team, his makeshift family, to support him as he tried to be a good leader for them. 

It wasn’t what he ever expected, but it was nice. Life was nice.

That all changed one fateful autumn afternoon.

“Kenma-san, a new coffee shop just opened around the block.”

Kenma shrugged, not looking up from his phone. He wasn’t really sure why Lev was telling him this. They were a cat cafe. They didn’t really have to worry about competition.

Lev hesitantly continued, “...And it’s an owl cafe.”

Kenma’s fingers froze in place. He looked up to give Lev an incredulous look. “What the fuck is an owl cafe?”

“Oh, you’ve never heard of them?” Lev asked as he tilted his head. Kenma did not like the feeling of Lev knowing something he didn’t. “They’re not that common, but you can, like, sit and drink coffee while there are all these owls around. Apparently this one looks really cool, too!”

Kenma frowned. Nothing about that sounded appealing at all. 

Later that night, when he was alone in his single-bedroom apartment, he grabbed a bottle of plum wine, pulled out his laptop, and decided to do some research of his own. 

Kenma watched in disbelief as he played a video of some YouTuber vlog her experience at an owl cafe in Osaka. She showed the eating part of the cafe, where she ordered an owl-themed drink and cookie. 

Kenma scoffed and took a swig from his bottle. Owl-themed drinks weren’t even that cute. 

Once she finished her food, the YouTuber was taken into a separate room that had owls lining the wall. Kenma shuddered at the thought of all of their wide eyes being trained on him. She was also given a glove, and one of the workers helped guide an owl to stand on her forearm. 

Kenma took another sip and could not understand why anyone would pay money to do this.

First of all, the girl hadn’t even been able to eat with the birds! Someone might as well go to a zoo at that rate, and just skip the overpriced coffee. Second of all, it all looked sterile. It probably had something to do with the needs of the birds, but at The Cat’s Whisker there were plush pillows and soft rugs everywhere. It was cozy, and welcoming, and much more appealing than what this owl cafe. 

Which was why Kenma was so shocked by the girl’s incredibly positive review. She talked about the quality of the food, how nice the employees had been, but more than anything how incredible the experience had been. She raved on and on about the different kinds of owls, and how connected she felt with them after the encounter.

Kenma looked flatly at his screen. She couldn’t possibly be serious. 

But apparently she was. She and the many other blog posts Kenma read about the cafe were. Most people only had positive things to say about them, and Kenma found himself slowly becoming more and more worried. 

He took several long gulps from the bottle of plum wine.

It was just that Kenma had worked so hard to get to where he was, and to make sure that Nekomata’s legacy lived on. As in harder than he had ever worked in his entire life. Sure it was just a coffee shop, but it was clearly the old man’s pride and joy. But now some new owl cafe decided to open its doors around the corner, and threatened all they’d built up.

Slowly, Kenma’s worry shifted to anger. Because who did these people think they were? There were dozens of areas in Tokyo that had no pet-themed cafes, why did they have to pick their block to move into? Sure they had just opened - if Lev’s word was anything to trust - but that didn’t mean they didn’t pose a threat to their cafe. Who knew what kind of work it was going to take to not lose their customers to the new and shiny place next door? Got, Kenma was exhausted just thinking about it.

Whoever was in charge of that place was an asshole. 

But maybe, in hindsight, he should’ve let himself calm down before calling Yamamoto and Fukunaga to rant about it. 

“It’s just, who even  _ likes _ owls, they’re like the bird most likely to confuse me for a meal and pick me up from the sky on my work.”

“Kenma, are you drunk?” Yamamoto answered in shock.

He also should’ve waited until he’d sobered up some. 

Fukunaga shushed him. “Don’t feel the need to answer that boss. Please, continue on about why you think an owl would confuse you as it’s meal.”

“That’s not even the point though,” Kenma complained petulantly. “The point is that this stupid owl cafe is going to steal all our customers unless we put in more  _ work _ , but we’re already putting in so much  _ work _ . So that means we have to  _ work _ even harder, which sounds like a death sentence.”

“You said work so many times it doesn’t even sound like a real word anymore.” Fukunaga quipped.

“Is that what this is all about, Kenma?” Yamamoto said with a groan. “I know you’re lazy, but that’s nothing to get this worked up about.”

“I’m not worked up - I’m not  _ you _ ,” Kenma said, missing the way Yamamoto growled and Fukunaga snorted. He frowned as he swirled what little remained in his wine bottle. “It’s just that...I’m not good at working hard. I never have been. So if this stupid owl cafe causes us to go under, it’ll be my fault.”

The line remained silent, and Kenma began regretting his words. He finished the bottle, wondering if he could get away with just hanging up on them, when Fukunaga spoke up.

“It doesn’t matter how shitty a hard worker you are Kenma.” Kenma’s jaw dropped in shock. Fukunaga was right, but he hadn’t expected him to say it. “It doesn’t matter what flaws you have, you have the rest of us to cover for you. Just like you cover for us. You know, when you’re not drunk.”

“I’m not drunk,” Kenma said with a pout. It didn’t even cross his mind that neither of his friends could see him. 

“You’re drunk,” Yamamoto said with a laugh. “But Fukunaga’s right. We’ve got your back!”

“Yeah!” Fukunaga agreed.

“And we’re going to help you in any way possible.”

“Yeah!”

“Which means we’re going to that damned owl cafe ourselves to do some recon!”

“Ye - I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“Yeah, I’m going to need you to repeat that too,” Kenma said drily. 

“Aw, come on guys.” Kenma couldn’t see Yamamoto, but he could imagine the way he was slumping over perfectly in his mind. “It’s a good idea! How are we going to know how to beat them if we don’t even know what we’re competing with?”

There was a beat of silence before Fukanaga spoke up. “Actually, I think I agree too. I can even bring a camera. You know, so we don’t miss anything.”

Kenma swore he could hear laughter in Fukunaga’s voice, but his head was swimming too much to figure out why that should be worrisome. 

But if they both agreed, it was probably a decent idea. Keep your friends close, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and all that.

Kenma furrowed his brow. Wait, maybe that wasn’t how that phrase went.

“That's definitely not how that phrase goes,” Fukunaga said through his laughter. It took Kenma a moment to realize he must have been speaking out loud.

Oh. Maybe he should just listen to them. They were thinking more clearly than he was. 

“I just looked it up and they even have a slot open for tomorrow afternoon,” Fukunaga said. “Both Yamamoto and I are off, and Kenma you can just take an hour off and leave one of the younger managers in charge.”

A beat of silence passed before all three of them said, “Shibayama.”

“It sounds like a plan!” Yamamoto practically yelled, making Kenma hold his phone further away from his ear. “Isn’t that right, boss?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kenma said, resigning himself to this. His pillow was looking particularly comfy, and in the next second he was flopping against it. “I’ll see you both in the morning then. Night.”

He hung up before he could hear their replies, and tossed his phone on his night stand. His last thought before he fell asleep was that he hoped the owner of the would be there tomorrow so he could throw something at them.

Ideally, some of their overpriced coffee. 

-

Kenma was never going to listen to Yamamoto or Fukunaga ever again.

“Oh, enough with the scowling,” Fukunaga said, and Yamamoto playfully nudged at Kenma’s shoulder. “You were the one who decided to get drunk and call us ass o’clock last night. You deserve this.”

“Whatever,” Kenma muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around him as they turned the corner. He promptly froze in place when he saw the line of people in front of him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“These are probably just people who didn’t make a reservation in advance, and are just hoping for a cancellation,” Fukunaga reassured him with a frown. Kenma knew that. Just as he knew that The Cat’s Whisker hadn’t had a waitlist like this for years.

“It’s just because it’s new.” Yamamoto clapped his hands on Kenma and Fukunaga’s shoulder with a proud grin. “It’ll die down in no time, especially after we show them up with whatever plan Kenma comes up with once we’ve scouted them out.”

Kenma rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t fight back the smile on his face at Yamamoto’s words. He really was lucky to have them both with him.

They made their way past the line, and walked into the entrance of the cafe. It was a small room with floor to ceiling windows, a desk taking up most of the room, and a simple black door in the back. The trio walked up to the desk and the man standing at the desk greeted them with a lopsided smile.

“Hello, my name is Konoha, welcome to The Owl’s Nest.” Kenma frowned. The name was even structured the same as theirs. “What name is your reservation for?”

“Fukunaga, reservation for three,” Fukunaga said easily as Kenma eyed the black door he suspected they would be walking through. Konoha explained the rules to them, but Kenma wasn’t really paying attention. He’d already read all about it online anyway.

“Well if you’re all ready, please take some hand sanitizer and walk through those doors!”

Kenma followed the instructions, and led Fukunaga and Yamamoto in opening the doors. Only for his jaw to drop as he walked in.

This was nothing like the video he’d watched.

Instead of their being two separate areas for eating and petting the owls, it was all integrated in one huge room. There was a counter in the back with a drink menu and bakery selection, and all around were comfy-looking booths and tables. The entire room was dimmed, strings of fairy lights adding light over some of the tables, and there were plants, both real and fake, practically everywhere.

One thing the video had gotten right was the owls on the walls. There were dozens of them just sitting on the branches that lined the wall, and every single one of them were staring at the center of the room with an insane amount of focus. 

It was somehow even creepier than Kenma had imagined. 

“There’s a free table in that corner,” Yamamoto said, shepherding them to a table in the corner. Kenma was just grateful it was away from the wall, and therefore away from the owls.

“I can go get us some drinks,” Fukunaga said as Kenma and Yamomoto settled in their seats. Kenma glared at him, and Fukunaga shrugged. “Well, we might as well, since we’re here.”

Kenma huffed, but asked Fukunaga to get him a hot chocolate and Yamamoto asked for something with way too many shots of espresso. As he walked away, Yamamoto leaned in close to Kenma. “So boss, what do you think of the place?”

Kenma pursed his lips. “It’s...nicer than I thought it would look. But I still don’t get the hype. The owls just look at you. What’s the appeal in that?”

Speak of the devil.

“Hello, there!” Kenma turned and his eyes went wide at the girl who was smiling at them. Well, not at her so much as the huge fucking owl on her forearm. “You two just walked in now, right? My name is Yukie! Did either of you want to try holding Ryuu here?”

The owl in question titled his head at them, and Kenma fought the urge to lean away from him.

“I- I, um, yeah, I wanna try,” Yamamoto stuttered out, looking completely flustered by the girl in front of him. Kenma resisted the very strong urge to roll his eyes. 

Yukie smiled kindly and handed Yamamoto a glove that matched the one she was wearing. “Go ahead and put that on your dominant hand.”

Yamamoto hurriedly followed her directions, putting the glove on two times before he got it on correctly. Once it was on, Yukie brought her wrist next to Yamamoto’s. Kenma had never seen the man look so red. She grabbed a treat from her fanny pack, and put it in front of the owl until it slowly walked from her arm to Yamamoto’s. She smiled, fed Ryuu the treat, and then trained her smile on Yamamoto.

Kenma was scared his friend was about to pass out.

“Good job!” she said as she gently pet the bird. “Now just keep your arm still, and you can pet him with the backs of your fingers like this.”

Kenma watched with waning interest as she continued to explain to Yamamoto some random owl facts, and was more than happy when Fukunaga showed up. He swiped his hot chocolate as Yukie offered Fukunaga a turn, and eyed the small white box Fukunaga had brought back with him as he agreed and Yukie gave the same instructions she gave to Yamamoto to Fukunaga.

“What about you?” she asked Kenma, as Fukunaga pet the owl on his arm as if it wasn’t capable of biting his finger off. He eyed the owl distrustfully and as if sensing his gaze, the owl turned to look at him. Kenma tried not to flinch.

How did people find this animal appealing?

Before he could find a way to politely decline, Yukie was straightening up and smiling widely at someone behind Kenma.

“Oh, Akaashi! I didn’t know you were planning on being on the floor this afternoon.”

“Plans change,” the newcomer named Akaashi said, and Kenma turned to look at him just in time for him to introduce himself. “Hello, my name is Akaashi Keiji - the owner of The Owl’s Nest.”

Kenma’s entire mind screeched to a halt at the words; but, not because he wasn’t expecting to meet the owner just then. It was because Akaashi Keiji was quite literally the most attractive person Kenma had ever seen in his entire life. And Kenma worked at a cat cafe that saw dozens of clientele from all over the world every day.

He knew what beautiful looked like. And this man single-handedly surpassed them all. 

How the fuck was it possible for someone to look this good?

“I’m Fukunaga,” Fukunaga said after an awkward beat of silence. “This is Yamamoto, and that over there is - ”

“Kozume Kenma, correct?” Kenma blinked. Why was the beautiful man saying his name? “You’re the owner of The Cat’s Whisker.”

Kenma narrowed his eyes at the words. They seemed innocuous enough, but Kenma could hear them for what they were - a challenge.

“Maybe I am,” Kenma replied, the expression on his face completely impassive. He hoped he hadn’t made too big a fool of himself before. “Is there a problem with that?”

“No,” Akaashi replied easily. “I am a bit surprised though. I hadn’t realized my little shop had posed such a threat to you all.”

Kenma bristled, and he could sense the anger coming from Yamamoto behind him. Who the hell did this guy think he was? 

It was official. Kenma was going to run their business into the ground. He was going to make Akaashi wish he’d never opened up his cafe here, make him wish he’d never even had the idea of an owl cafe. 

He felt a hand rest on his upper arm, and he looked back to see Fukuanag looking at Akaashi with a stiff smile. “It’s probably for the best that we head out.”

Kenma shot one last glare at Akaashi as he made his way to the door.  _ What an asshole. _

He said as much as once they exited the cafe.

“Yeah, I hate that guy,” Yamamoto said at the exact same time Fukunaga said, “Well, we did technically come to spy on him.”

Kenma whipped around to glare at Fukunaga. “You’re the one that convinced me to do this. You made the damn reservation!”

“While that is technically true...” Fukunaga started and Kenma just scoffed at him. He raised his hands up in defense. “Weel, it’s not like I knew they were going to recognize you! I just thought it’d be a good laugh.”

It was then that Kenma noticed what was in his hand.

“Why do you still have the pastry box with you?” Kenma asked flatly. Fukunaga blinked, and looked at his hand as if he had forgotten it was there.

“Oh, yeah, they had apple pie.” 

Kenma felt himself perk up before he could even help himself. Yamamoto snorted at him, and Kenma turned his glare to him.

“Look, so what if this didn’t turned out exactly how we planned,” Fukunaga said as he pushed the box into Kenma’s hand. “My drinks are still better than theirs, and once Kenma tries that pie, we’ll know how our baked goods hold up too.”

“I’m not trying the damn pie,” Kenma snapped, and he meant it. He meant it when he stalked the rest of the way back to The Cat’s Whisker with the pie in his hand. He meant it when he went to his office and researched the name Akaashi Keiji. Meant it while he sat at his kotatsu at home with the pie directly in front of him.

But then again, one bite probably wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like Akaashi would know. 

Kenma pulled the box closer to him, and grabbed his fork to break off as small a piece as possibly. Hesitantly Kenma brought the fork to his lips, and took a bite.

The perfect balance of sweet and spice exploded on Kenma’s tongue, and he had to stop himself from moaning  _ out loud _ . What the hell?  _ What the hell? _ How was this so good? How was this pie that had been bought hours ago still taste so perfect? How was the crust still perfect and the filling not runny? Had God himself baked this fucking pie?

What the hell was Kenma supposed to do with the fact that Akaashi Keiji was a hot, owl conservationist - Kenma had learned this when researching the asshole - who owned a bakery with the most perfect apple pie he’d ever tasted in his entire life?

Whatever. It wasn’t like Akaashi himself had baked it. 

It was that thought that allowed Kenma to go to bed in peace.

-

“Kenma-san, there’s an angel at the front desk asking for you!” 

Kenma looked up from his desk to look at Lev with a sigh. They hadn’t even properly opened yet and Lev was already starting with his ridiculous claims. Shibayama was standing right beside him, and Kenma gave him a pointed look.

Shibayama nodded very sagely. “Lev is right, an angel is asking to speak to you.”

Kenma blinked in surprise, and stood from his desk to follow them both out to the front of the cafe. As soon as Kenma registered who was standing at the front counter, he almost choked.

“Kozume-san,” Akaashi fucking Keiji greeted with a polite smile. “I hope you’re doing well.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Kenma blurted out before he could help himself. Lev and Shibayama looked back and forth between Akaashi and Kenma. Kenma gave them pointed looks. “Don’t the cats need to start being let out?”

Shibayama straightened up before nodding and pulling Lev with him to the back. Lev was complaining loudly about it, but Kenma chose to ignore him.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Akaashi said once the two disappeared. “I know you haven’t technically opened yet…”

“You sure do seem to know a lot about us,” Kenma interrupted flatly as he made his way to stand directly behind the counter. “So what are you doing here?”

Akaashi hummed quietly as he stood with his hands behind his back. “Did you like the apple pie you got yesterday?”

Kenma wasn’t sure whether to ask how Akaashi had known they’d gotten the apple pie or call him out for avoiding the question, but he decided on neither. Maybe if he answered, Akaashi would leave and his life would go back to how it was when needlessly beautiful men weren’t a common occurrence. “It was good. I guess.”

Akaashi smiled, a real one that made his eyes crinkle and made Kenma’s breath catch in his throat. “I’m happy to hear that. I happened to make it myself.”

Of course. Of fucking course. Kenma couldn’t have anything.

Before Kenma was able to come up with an answer to that life-changing reveal, Akaashi continued. “Is there any way I could request a tour of the place? If you have the time, of course.”

Kenma didn’t really have time. Their doors were set to open in just a few minutes and all their slots were fully booked today. He also had paperwork waiting for him on his desk, and he still needed to come up with ways to bring Akaashi down.

“Yeah,” Kenma ended up replying with. He hated the way his heart skipped in his chest when Akaashi offered him yet another smile. 

So Kenma showed him around. He let Shibayama, Inuoka, and Lev handle the rest of the customers as Kenma introduced Akaashi to all of the cats. He showed him the elaborate tube system on the wall and explained how Haru and Koko liked to hide in it when there were lots of children. Ducked down to look in the cubbies and introduce him to Mei who spent most of her day sleeping. Reached up to gently bring down Shiro, who was his favorite, because of the way his paws looked like socks. 

Did all this, and completely missed the way Akaashi was softly looking at him.

It was while Kenma was making tea for them both that Akaashi brought up the day before. “I do believe I owe you an apology.” Kenma paused, and turned to look at Akaashi fully. The other man was staring at the counter with a rueful look on his face. “Getting the cafe together was...a struggle to say the least, and I got defensive when I saw you there.” Akaashi looked up at him then, and Kenma was taken aback to see the genuine remorse in his eyes. “You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry Kozume-san.”

Kenma bit the inside of his cheek, guilt creeping up on him. Because technically speaking he had been at The Owl’s Nest for the purpose of bringing it down.

Not that he’d admit that to Akaashi’s face.

“It’s fine. I get it. Really.” Kenma smiled, remembering all the work it took to get The Cat’s Whisker up and running. “And you can call me Kenma. Most of my friends do anyway.”

Akaashi smiled at Kenma, and Kenma turned to finish preparing their teas so Akaashi wouldn’t see the blush rising on his cheeks. It was much harder to hate him after an apology like that. Akaashi continued speaking as Kenma poured the water from the kettle into two mugs. “I’m glad you forgive me, but I do feel like I owe you something more. Why don’t you come by my cafe after hours, and I can give you a tour - return the favor and all that.”

Kenma jerked in surprise at the offer, and almost burned his hand. He cursed under his breath, and waved Akaashi off when the other man asked if he was alright. 

“Sorry,” Kenma said as he placed Akaashi’s mug in front of him. “I just wasn’t expecting the offer.”

“I noticed you weren’t all that comfortable around the owls yesterday,” Akaashi explained, and Kenma grimaced. He hadn’t realized he’d been so obvious. “I think if it’s just me and you there, I can show you that owls aren’t so bad.”

Kenma’s mouth went dry at the thought of being alone with Akaashi before he remembered that this also meant having to put up with a room full of those creepy owls. But he probably owed Akaashi given the fact that one of the tabs open in his laptop was an infomatic about why owl’s were one of the least hygienic birds.

For research purposes, of course.

“Okay,” Kenma said, looking away as Akaashi’s face brightened. He could not believe he was agreeing to an entire evening of this. “I usually wrap up here at around 7…”

“Come by then,” Akaashi said before he shot a quick glance at his watch. “I do have to head back now, but I look forward to seeing you, Kozume-san.”

“Kenma,” he corrected. 

The corner of Akaashi’s lip twitched up. “My apologies. I look forward to seeing you, Kenma.”

If Kenma spent the rest of the day thinking of the way his name sounded coming from Akaashi’s mouth, then it was no one else’s business but his own. It was also completely justified. He doubted anyone would be able to function normally if someone as beautiful as Akaash had both said their name  _ and _ invited them to spend an evening alone together as if they were on some date.

Wait a second. 

Had Akaashi asked him on a date? No, no way, Kenma would know if he had just been asked on a date.

At least he hoped he did as he walked around the corner to The Owl’s Nest. If it was a date, he was about to make an awful impression with his hair tied sloppily in a bun on the nape of his neck, and cat hair all over his clothes. 

Kenma reached the cafe and was pleasantly surprised to see Akaashi waiting in the entrance for him.

“I’m glad you made it,” Akaashi said as he smiled at Kenma in greeting. “I realized I never got your number in the case that something came up for you.”

Kenma just shrugged. “You’re around the corner. If something came up, I could’ve just told you.”

Akaashi hummed as he led Kenma through the black door. “Well, I still feel like I should get it before you leave. Just in case.”

Kenma almost tripped over his own feet. That sounded exactly what someone on a date would say. Shit, was this actually a date?

Unfortunately for Kenma, Akaashi didn’t stop there. He’d brought out the smallest owl they had, and endeared Kenma to him by telling him his name was Mikan. He’d put the thick glove required for holding owls on Kenma himself, and held Kenma's hand as he encouraged Mikan to walk over to Kenma. He then proceeded to hold Kenma’s  _ other _ hand as he showed him the proper way to pet an owl without messing up its feathers.

If this was a date, the Akaashi was the smoothest goddamn man Kenma encountered in his life.

It was when Akaashi finally pulled away from him and told Kenma that he had a pie ready for him that Kenma reached his breaking point.

“Akaashi,” Kenma said carefully, trying not to look away as Akaashi met his gaze at the sound of his name. “Is this...is there any chance that this is a date?”

Akaashi raised a single eyebrow. “Did you want it to be a date?”

“That’s not what I asked.” Akaashi opened his mouth to reply, and Kenma interrupted him before he could speak. “I guess I’m just a bit confused. If it is a date, I mean. You just met me yesterday, and didn’t seem to like me very much.” 

Part of Kenma expected to be laughed at - either for thinking it was a date, or for not realizing it sooner. Instead Akaashi just smiled at him. 

“You know, before you, most cat cafes didn’t have a donation aspect.” Akaashi said softly. Kenma blinked in surprise. Most people didn’t know that about The Cat’s Whisker. “Other places would buy kittens, and then when they got older, just push them off on the animal shelters. You were one of the first people to change that.”

Kenma blushed. “Well it wasn’t all me…”

“Well you’re the one who kept it up.” Akaashi reached across to hold Kenma’s hand, this time without the bulky glove in the way. “When I wanted to start this cafe, you were one of my inspirations for it. Which was how I recognized you yesterday. And why I was so prickly. I was a bit nervous.”

Kenma gaped at Akaashi. As if Kenma was worth getting nervous about.

“So, if this is a date,” Kenma said slowly, trying to steady his nerves. Why was he nervous? Akaashi had just said he’d known about Kenma for ages. Kenma licked his lips. “If this is a date, can I kiss you?”

Akaashi blinked in surprise, before a light blush painted his cheeks. Kenma kind of wanted Akaashi to look like that forever. “I’d been expecting this later in the night.”

“Plans change,” Kenma said with a smirk before he leaned over to press his lips against Akaashi’s. Akaashi immediately opened his mouth to him, and Kenma didn’t even bother trying to hide the quiet moan that escaped his mouth. 

This wasn’t nice. It was so much better.

**Author's Note:**

> kenma is a gay disaster ur honor
> 
> feel free to come chat with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/neenswrites)!!!!


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